A new study reports that there is something besides deadly toxin hidden inside the snake: a powerful painkiller that works as well as morphine but without the side effects......................................meaning they shut down the pathway responsible for registering pain......................................But naloxone did nothing, suggesting that the side-effects of morphine and other opiates would not be a factor with mambalgins.

The researchers also tested whether mice would develop tolerance to mambalgins. In other words, as time passes, is more of the protein needed to achieve the same pain-relieving effect, as is the case with opiates? While the mice developed some tolerance to the mambalgins, it was far less than they saw when they treated mice with opiates.